Cleaning supplies caddy

ABSTRACT

A cleaning supplies caddy for holding a number of cleaning supplies. The caddy includes a base for supporting the cleaning supplies and a cover adapted to fit on the base having one or more cover walls at least partially defining a cover cavity therein in which the cleaning supplies are receivable. The base includes one or more base securing elements, and the cover has one or more cover securing elements, for cooperating with the base securing element(s) to secure the base and the cover together.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/118,502, filed on Nov. 28, 2008, the entire contentsof which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a cleaning supplies caddy for holding a numberof cleaning supplies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Caddies for storing and transporting cleaning supplies are well known inthe art. However, the known cleaning supplies caddies have somedisadvantages.

For instance, when the prior art caddy is temporarily left unattended oris not in use, the cleaning supplies positioned therein are readilyavailable to anyone. This is undesirable because, among other things,the cleaning supplies typically include materials which are potentiallyharmful to human beings (e.g., poisonous if ingested), and those such aschildren who may unintentionally harm themselves or others with suchmaterials should not have access to such materials.

In addition, the known cleaning supplies caddy typically is not suitablefor marketing the caddy as a part of a kit, e.g., a cleaning kitincluding the caddy and cleaning supplies therein. In the prior art,such a cleaning kit typically is required to be packaged in variouspackaging materials, resulting in significant waste when the packagingis discarded and also adding to the cost of the kit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a cleaning supplies caddythat addresses or at least mitigates one or more of the disadvantages ofthe prior art.

In its broad aspect, the invention provides a cleaning supplies caddyfor holding a number of cleaning supplies. The caddy includes a base forsupporting the cleaning supplies, and a cover adapted to fit on the basehaving one or more cover walls at least partially defining a covercavity therein in which the cleaning supplies are receivable. The baseincludes one or more base securing elements, and the cover has one ormore cover securing elements, for cooperating with the base securingelement(s) to secure the base and the cover together.

In another aspect, the cover wall is substantially continuous andadditionally defines a support region for supporting the cover in aninverted position so that, when removed from the base, the cover ispositionable on the support region to contain a liquid in the covercavity.

In yet another aspect, the support region has a main surface and anumber of buttons protruding therefrom for supporting the cover, whenthe cover is inverted.

In one embodiment, the cleaning supplies caddy of the inventionpreferably includes one or more labels for providing point of purchaseinformation.

In yet another aspect, the cover is at least partially non-opaque, topermit at least partial observation of the cover cavity.

In accordance with another broad aspect of the invention, the cleaningsupplies caddy includes a number of cleaning supplies, a base forsupporting the cleaning supplies, and a cover adapted to fit on the basehaving one or more cover walls at least partially defining a covercavity therein, the cleaning supplies being receivable in the covercavity. The base has one or more base securing elements, and the coverincludes one or more cover securing elements, for cooperating with thebase securing element(s) to secure the base and the cover together.

In accordance with another broad aspect of the invention, the baseincludes base securing elements positioned at the first and second endsof the base respectively, and the cover includes cover securing elementspositioned at the first and second ends of the cover respectively. Thecleaning supplies caddy preferably also includes a handle having anelongate body portion extending between first and second ends thereof,and mounting elements positioned at the first and second endsrespectively of the body portion, for securing the first and second endsof the body portion to the respective cover securing elements. The bodyportion also includes latch elements at the first and second endsthereof respectively. When the cover is on the base, the body portion ismovable between a locked condition, in which the latch elements disposedat each of the first and second ends of the body portion engage the basesecuring elements at the first and second ends of the base respectively,to hold the cover securing elements and the base securing elementstogether for securing the cover and the base together, and an unlockedcondition, in which the latch elements are disengaged from the basesecuring elements, to permit removal of the cover from the base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood with reference to the attacheddrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 a is an exploded isometric view of an embodiment of a cleaningsupplies caddy of the invention;

FIG. 1 b is an exploded isometric view of an alternative embodiment ofthe cleaning supplies caddy of the invention, drawn at a smaller scale;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the caddy of FIG. 1 a in which a cover ispositioned on a base thereof, drawn at a larger scale;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-section of the caddy of FIG. 2 showing a coversecuring element and a base securing element engaged with each other,drawn at a larger scale;

FIG. 4 a is an isometric view of the cover of FIGS. 1 a and 2 in aninverted position, in which water is held in the cover;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of an alternative embodiment of the cleaningsupplies caddy of the invention;

FIG. 6 a is a partial cross-section of the cover securing element andthe base securing element of FIG. 3 in which the elements are engaged,drawn at a larger scale;

FIG. 6 b is a partial cross-section of the cover securing element andthe base securing element of FIG. 6 a in which the elements aredisengaged;

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of a portion of the cleaning supplies caddyof FIG. 5 in which a locking element is positioned in aligned aperturesin the cover and the base, drawn at a smaller scale;

FIG. 8 a is an isometric view of another alternative embodiment of thecleaning supplies caddy of the invention, drawn at a smaller scale;

FIG. 8 b is a side view of the cleaning supplies caddy of FIG. 8 a;

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-section of a portion of the caddy of FIG. 8 a,drawn at a smaller scale;

FIG. 10 is an end view of the caddy of FIG. 8 a with a handle thereof ina locked condition, drawn at a smaller scale;

FIG. 11 is an end view of the caddy of FIG. 8 a with the handle in anunlocked condition;

FIG. 12 is a side view of a portion of the handle in the unlockedcondition, drawn at a larger scale; and

FIG. 13 is a side view of a portion of the handle in the lockedcondition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference is first made to FIGS. 1 a-4 b and FIGS. 6 a-7 to describe anembodiment of a cleaning supplies caddy of the invention referred togenerally by the numeral 5. The cleaning supplies caddy 5 is for holdinga number of cleaning supplies 8 (FIG. 4 a), as will be described. Thecaddy 5 preferably includes a base 10 for supporting the cleaningsupplies 8, and a cover 15 adapted to fit on the base 10 with one ormore cover walls 16 at least partially defining a cover cavity 17therein (FIG. 3) in which the cleaning supplies are receivable.Preferably, the base 10 includes one or more base securing elements 22.Also, the cover 15 preferably includes one or more cover securingelements 24, for cooperating with the base securing element(s) 22 tosecure the base 10 and the cover 15 together (FIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 4 a, upon removal of the cover 15 from the base 10, theuser has access to the cleaning supplies 8. In one embodiment, the coverwall 16 preferably is substantially continuous and additionally definesa support region 25 for supporting the cover 15 in an inverted position(FIG. 4 b) so that, when removed from the base 10, the cover 15 ispositionable on the support region 25 to contain a liquid 61 in thecover cavity 14. Accordingly, and as can be seen in FIG. 4 b, after thecover 15 is removed from the base 10, and upon inverting the cover 15,water 61 (and/or another cleaning agent as desired) may be held in theinverted cover 15. Accordingly, the water 61 (and/or another cleaningagent) may then be used for cleaning purposes, with or without additives(e.g., soap). It is preferred that the cover 15 also includes a spoutelement 31 (FIG. 1 a), to facilitate control of the liquid 61 when it ispoured from the inverted cover 15.

Preferably, the support region 25 includes a main surface 76 and anumber of buttons 64 protruding therefrom for supporting the cover 10,when the cover 10 is inverted. The main surface 76 preferably issubstantially planar and the buttons 64 preferably each protrude fromthe main surface 76 by approximately the same distance, so that theinverted cover 15 is stable when located on a substantially flatsurface. Retailers and wholesalers of the caddy 5 may wish to stack anumber of the caddies 5, e.g., in a retail display, and the buttons 64may also be used in that regard. The buttons 64 preferably arepositioned for alignment with indentations (not shown) in the base 10 inwhich the buttons 64 are respectively receivable, for stacking.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, in one embodiment, the base 10 and thecover 15 both extend between first and second ends thereof 36, 37, 38,39 respectively. Preferably, cover securing elements 24 are positionedat each of the first and second ends 38, 39 of the cover 15 respectivelyand base securing elements 22 are positioned at the first and secondends 36, 37 of the base 10 for cooperation with the cover securingelements 24 respectively.

In one embodiment, the base 10 preferably includes one or more firstapertures 70 and the cover 15 includes one or more corresponding secondapertures 72 (FIG. 1 a) positioned to register with the first apertures70 respectively, when the cover 15 is mounted on the base 10.Preferably, the caddy 5 also includes a locking element 68 which is atleast partially positionable in a selected pair of the first and secondapertures when the cover 15 is mounted on the base 10, to permit thelocking element 68 to lock the base 10 and the cover 15 together (FIG.7). The locking element is any suitable means for locking the cover andthe base together when the cover is mounted on the base, to preventunauthorized access therein.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that it may bedesirable to lock the cover 15 and the base 10 together for a variety ofpurposes, and in different contexts. For instance, the cleaning suppliescaddy 5 may be offered for sale (i.e., at retail) with cleaning supplies8 therein. The cleaning supplies may be, for example, intended for aspecific purpose (i.e., cleaning an automobile, or dishwashing whilecamping) or they may be intended for general household use. When thecaddy with the cleaning supplies therein is offered for sale, theretailer may prefer to have the base and the cover locked together witha suitable locking element 68 such as a cable tie lock, to prevent theftof cleaning supplies while the caddy is displayed.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the user may alsowish to lock the base and the cover, e.g., to prevent unauthorizedaccess to the cleaning supplies in the home. Users may wish to employvarying degrees of security, e.g., “child resistant” to “child proof”.For instance, the user may wish to prevent a small child from havingaccess to the cleaning supplies, or the user may wish to prevent anolder child from having such access. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that any suitable locking element 68 may be used to lock thebase and the cover together. Also, those skilled in the art willappreciate that, depending on the circumstances, the cover and the basemay include as many alignable pairs of apertures spaced apart from eachother, with locking elements 68 positioned therein, as are desirable inthe circumstances. It is anticipated that, in most cases, only one pairof such apertures is sufficient.

As can be seen, for example, in FIG. 2, the cleaning supplies caddy 5preferably also includes one or more labels 62 for providing point ofpurchase information. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that suchinformation is generally required or customarily provided with productsoffered for sale at retail. As can be seen in FIG. 2, due to the labels62, the cleaning caddy 5 may be sold at retail without additionalpackaging. This has the beneficial result that the caddy 5 does notinclude packaging that ultimately is discarded. In this way, the caddy 5is designed to minimize waste.

Preferably, the base 10 additionally includes one or more base walls 13at least partially defining a base cavity 14, and a number of interiorwalls 26 connected with the base wall 13. The interior walls 26 at leastpartially extend into the base cavity 14 to define a number ofcompartments 74 in which the cleaning supplies 8 are respectivelyreceivable. The compartments 74 preferably are configured for receivingpredetermined cleaning supplies. Examples of typical cleaning supplies 8are shown in FIG. 4 a positioned in different compartments respectively,e.g., a bottle 50, a spray bottle 52, a cloth 54, a brush 56, and a jarcontainer 58.

Preferably, the caddy 5 also includes a latch element 28 mounted on aselected one of the cover securing element 24 and the base securingelement 22 movable between an engaged position (FIGS. 3 and 6 a), inwhich the latch element 28 engages the other of the cover securingelement 24 and the base securing element 22 to connect the base 10 andthe cover 15 together, and a disengaged position (FIG. 6 b), in whichthe latch element 28 and the other of the cover and base securingelements 24, 22 are disengaged from each other to permit removal of thecover 15 from the base 10.

In one embodiment, the latch element 28 includes a tab 42 with a matingsurface 32 thereon and the other of the cover securing element 24 andthe base securing element 22 includes a lip 34 (FIG. 6 b). Preferably,the tab 42 is biased to an engaged condition (FIG. 3, FIG. 6 a) in whichthe mating surface 32 is engaged with the lip 34 when the cover 15 ismounted on the base 10, to connect the cover 15 and the base 10together. The tab 42 preferably is movable between the engaged conditionand a disengaged condition (FIG. 6 b), in which the mating surface 32and the lip 34 are disengaged to permit removal of the cover 15 from thebase 10.

In one embodiment, the tab 42 of the latch element 28 is mounted on thecover securing element 24, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 b, 6 a, and 6 b. Thetab 42 is shown in the disengaged condition in FIG. 6 b, i.e., the lip34 and the mating surface 32 are illustrated in the disengaged conditionin that drawing.

As can be seen in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b, when the cover is pushed downwardlyinto the base, the tab 42 moves to the engaged condition (i.e., in thedirection indicated by arrow “A” in FIG. 6 a) until the mating surface32 is fully engaged with the lip 34 on the base securing element 22.Such movement preferably takes place because the tab 42 is biasedaccordingly. It will be understood that the mating surface 32 and thelip 34 engage each other in a snap fit when the latch element 28 is inthe engaged condition. To move the tab 42 from the engaged condition tothe disengaged condition, the tab 42 is moved outwardly (i.e., in thedirection indicated by arrow “B” in FIG. 6 b), to move the matingsurface 32 away from the lip 34 to disengage the mating surface 32 andthe lip 34. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that,alternatively, the latch element 28 may be mounted on the base securingelement, and the lip 34 may be positioned on the cover securing element(not shown).

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the caddy 5 maybe made of any suitable material or materials. For example, a suitablematerial is a plastic polymer. The base and/or the cover may be formedwith a number of additional features. For instance, the base preferablyincludes a channel 34 integrally formed in the base 10 (FIG. 2). Thechannel 34 is formed to accommodate a user's hands (not shown), toenable the user to lift the caddy easily.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 a, 2, and 3, the cover wall 16 preferablyincludes end walls 33 defining the first and second ends 38, 39 of thecover 15. Preferably, the end walls 33 each include a main portion 40connected to the main surface 76 and an indented portion 41 which isindented relative to the main portion 40, to define a space 43 in whichthe user's fingers (not shown) may engage the cover securing element 24when the cover 15 is inverted. In this way, the cover securing elements24 may also be used as handles when the cover 15 is inverted.

In use, the caddy 5 may be closed (i.e., the cover is mounted on thebase and the latch element engaged) and locked, for instance, bypositioning the locking element 68 through the first and secondapertures, as shown in FIG. 7. In one embodiment, and as shown in FIGS.1 a-4 a, the cleaning supplies caddy 5 preferably includes the cleaningsupplies 8 and is offered for sale including the cleaning supplies. Asdescribed above, when the caddy is displayed for retail sale withcleaning supplies therein, the cover and the base preferably are lockedtogether.

After purchase, when the user wishes to obtain access to the cleaningsupplies in the caddy, the locking element(s) 68 is unlocked and thecover is removed from the base. Once the cover is removed, the user hasaccess to the cleaning supplies 8. Also, the removed cover may beinverted, and used as a pail. After use, the cleaning supplies arepositioned on the base, and the cover is replaced on the base. The usermay also lock the cover and the base together, also as described above.

As noted above, the cleaning supplies caddy may be sold with cleaningsupplies in it for specific purposes. The caddy will not open easily(i.e., the cover is not easily removed from the base), and this has theadded benefit that the cleaning supplies are contained inside the coverand the base if the cleaning supplies caddy falls over or is overturned,limiting the extent to which the spilled cleaning supplies spread.

An alternative embodiment of the cleaning supplies caddy 305 isillustrated in FIG. 1 b. The caddy 305 preferably includes a base 310and a cover 315 adapted to fit on the base 310. It is preferred that thebase 310 includes a base securing element 322, and the cover 315includes a cover securing element 324 for cooperating with the basesecuring element 322 to secure the cover 315 and the base 310 together.For instance, as shown in FIG. 1 b, the base securing element 322 andthe cover securing element 324 are adapted to be threadably engaged witheach other.

The base 310 preferably includes a frame 327 in which the cleaningsupplies 8 are positionable. Preferably, the frame 327 defines openings329 in which the elements or parts of the cleaning supplies 8 arerespectively receivable. As can be seen in FIG. 1 b, after the elementsor parts of the cleaning supplies 8 are positioned in the openings 329,the cover 315 may be positioned on the base 310 and the cleaningsupplies 8 received in a cover cavity (not shown in FIG. 1 b) defined bythe cover 315.

Additional embodiments of the invention are shown in FIGS. 5 and 8 a-13.In FIGS. 5 and 8 a-13, elements are numbered so as to correspond to likeelements shown in FIGS. 1 a-4 b and FIGS. 6 a-7.

In another embodiment, a cleaning supplies caddy 105 includes a cover115 which is at least partially non-opaque, to permit at least partialobservation of the cover cavity 117 (FIG. 5). Preferably, the non-opaquecover 115 is any material which is not opaque, and thus permits a userto see the contents of the caddy 105 without having to open or removethe cover 115 from the base 110. For instance, the non-opaque materialmay be a substantially transparent cover which is made of any suitablydurable plastic. Alternatively, the cover may be at least partially madeof substantially translucent material. This feature is useful both forretailing purposes (i.e., to enable the prospective purchaser to see thecleaning supplies which are to be sold with the caddy) and in use, e.g.,to enable the user to confirm that the desired cleaning supplies are inthe caddy. In addition, when the cover 115 is used as a pail, the usercan quickly determine whether water 61 in the inverted cover has becomesufficiently dirty that it should be replaced.

Preferably, the base 110 includes a number of interior walls 126connected with the base wall 113. The interior walls 126 at leastpartially extend into the base cavity 114 to define a number ofcompartments 174 in which the cleaning supplies 8 are respectivelyreceivable. It is also preferred that the caddy 105 includes one or morelabels 162 positioned on the base 110 for providing point of purchaseinformation. It will be understood that, alternatively, some or all ofthe labels 162 may be located on the cover 115.

In another embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 a-13, a cleaning supplies caddy205 preferably includes a base 210 and a cover 215 extending betweenfirst and second ends 236, 237, 238, 239 respectively. Preferably, thecaddy 205 also includes a handle 280 with an elongate body portion 282extending between first and second ends 284, 286 thereof (FIGS. 8 a, 8b). In addition, cover securing elements 224 preferably are positionedat the first and second ends 238, 239 of the cover 215, and basesecuring elements 222 are positioned on the base 210 at the first andsecond ends 236, 237 thereof for cooperation with the cover securingelements 224 when the cover 215 is mounted on the base 210 (FIGS. 9, 12,13). The handle 280 also preferably includes mounting elements 290positioned at the first and second ends 284, 286 of the body portion282, for securing the first and second ends 284, 286 of the body portion282 to the cover securing elements 224 at the first and second ends 238,239 of the cover 215 respectively (FIGS. 8 a, 8 b). Preferably, themounting elements 290 engage the cover securing elements 224 so as tosecure the first and second ends 284, 286 of the body portion 282 to thecover securing elements 224, however, the mounting elements 290 permitthe body portion 282 to rotate relative to the cover securing elements224 while remaining engaged therewith.

When the cover is mounted on the base, the body portion 282 preferablyis movable between a locked condition (FIGS. 10, 13), in which latchelements 228 disposed at each of the first and second ends 284, 286 ofthe body portion 282 engage the base securing elements 222 at the firstand second ends 236, 237 of the base 210 respectively, to hold the coversecuring element 224 and the base securing element 222 together at eachend respectively to secure the cover 215 and the base 210 together, andan unlocked condition (FIGS. 11, 12), in which the latch elements 228are disengaged from the base securing elements respectively, to permitremoval of the cover 215 from the base 210. It will be understood that,to simplify the illustrations, the cover and base securing elements 224,222 and the latch element 228 at only one end of the caddy 205 are shownin FIGS. 9, 12, and 13. The cover and base securing elements 224, 222and the latch element 228 are the same at each end of the caddy.

As can be seen in FIGS. 9, 12, and 13, the cover and base securingelements 224, 222 each define grooves 292, 293 therein in which lipelements 294, 296 of the latch element 228 are receivable. In FIG. 13,it can be seen that, when the body portion is located at the 12 o'clockposition, the lip elements 294, 296 are engaged in the grooves 292, 293,thereby holding the cover 215 and the base 210 together. However, thegrooves 292, 293 do not extend 360°, i.e., they are truncated to definegaps 298, 299 into which the lip elements 294, 296 are moved when thebody portion 282 is pivoted to the 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock positions(FIG. 12). In these circumstances, the lip elements 294, 296 do notengage either the cover securing element 224 or the base securingelement 222, and the cover 215 and the base 210 are disengagable fromeach other.

As can be seen in FIGS. 12 and 13, the cover and base securing elements224, 222 preferably include detents 297 which hold the body portion 282in the 6 o'clock position or, if preferred, in the 12 o'clock position(FIG. 10). For instance, as indicated above, the cover (after removalfrom the base) may be inverted and used as a bucket. In that situation,the handle 280 may be used if the body portion is moved to the sixo'clock position. In these circumstances, the detents 297 serve to holdthe body portion 282 in the 6 o'clock position, with the result that thecover is more conveniently usable as a bucket, as the detents hold thebody portion 282 in position.

As can be seen in FIGS. 8-13, the handle 280 provides a number ofadditional advantages. First, when the handle 280 is in the lockedcondition, the caddy 205 is easily carried by the user. Also, the handle280 provides an easy way to determine whether the cover 215 and the base210 are locked together, e.g., before the user attempts to lift thecaddy.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the inventioncan take many forms, and that such forms are within the scope of theinvention as described above. The foregoing descriptions are exemplaryand their scope should not be limited to the preferred versionscontained herein.

1. A cleaning supplies caddy for holding a plurality of cleaningsupplies, the caddy comprising: a base for supporting the cleaningsupplies; a cover adapted to fit on the base comprising at least onecover wall at least partially defining a cover cavity therein in whichthe cleaning supplies are receivable; the base comprising at least onebase securing element; and the cover comprising at least one coversecuring element, for cooperating with said at least one base securingelement to secure the base and the cover together.
 2. A cleaningsupplies caddy according to claim 1 in which said at least one coverwall is substantially continuous and additionally defines a supportregion for supporting the cover in an inverted position such that, whenremoved from the base, the cover is positionable on the support regionto contain a liquid in the cover cavity.
 3. A cleaning supplies caddyaccording to claim 2 in which the support region comprises a mainsurface and a plurality of buttons protruding therefrom for supportingthe cover, when the cover is inverted.
 4. A cleaning supplies caddyaccording to claim 1 in which: the base and the cover both extendbetween first and second ends thereof respectively; cover securingelements are positioned at each of the first and second ends of thecover respectively; and base securing elements are positioned at thefirst and second ends of the base for cooperation with the coversecuring elements respectively.
 5. A cleaning supplies caddy accordingto claim 1 in which: the base comprises at least one first aperture; thecover comprises at least one second aperture positioned to register withsaid at least one first aperture when the cover is secured to the base;and the caddy additionally comprises a locking element at leastpartially positionable in said at least one first aperture and said atleast one second aperture when the cover is secured to the base, topermit the locking element to lock the base and the cover together.
 6. Acleaning supplies caddy according to claim 1 additionally comprising atleast one label for providing point of purchase information.
 7. Acleaning supplies caddy according to claim 1 in which the baseadditionally comprises: at least one base wall at least partiallydefining a base cavity; and a plurality of interior walls connected withsaid at least one base wall, the interior walls at least partiallyextending into the base cavity to define a plurality of compartments inwhich the cleaning supplies are respectively receivable.
 8. A cleaningsupplies caddy according to claim 1 additionally comprising: a latchelement mounted on selected one of said at least one cover securingelement and said at least one base securing element movable between anengaged position, in which the latch element engages the other of saidat least one cover securing element and said at least one base securingelement to connect the base and the cover together, and a disengagedposition, in which the latch element and the other of said at least onecover securing element and said at least one base securing element aredisengaged from each other to permit removal of the cover from the base.9. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 8 in which: the latchelement comprises a tab with a mating surface thereon; the other of saidat least one cover securing element and said at least one base securingelement comprises a lip; when the cover is mounted on the base, the tabis movable to an engaged condition in which the mating surface isengaged with the lip, to connect the cover and the base together; andthe tab is movable between the engaged condition and a disengagedcondition, in which the mating surface and the lip are disengaged topermit removal of the cover from the base.
 10. A cleaning supplies caddyaccording to claim 1 in which the cover is at least partiallynon-opaque, to permit at least partial observation of the cover cavity.11. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 1 in which: the baseand the cover both extend between first and second ends respectively;the cleaning supplies caddy additionally comprises a handle, the handlecomprising an elongate body portion extending between first and secondends thereof; cover securing elements are positioned at the first andsecond ends of the cover, and base securing elements are positioned onthe base at the first and second ends thereof for cooperation with thecover securing elements when the cover is on the base; the handleincludes mounting elements positioned at the first and second ends ofthe body portion, for securing the first and second ends of the bodyportion to the cover securing elements at the first and second ends ofthe cover respectively; and when the cover is on the base, the bodyportion is movable between a locked condition, in which latch elementsdisposed at each of the first and second ends of the body portion engagethe base securing elements at the first and second ends of the baserespectively, to hold the cover securing element and the base securingelement together at each said end respectively for securing the coverand the base together, and an unlocked condition, in which the latchelements are disengaged from the base securing elements respectively, topermit removal of the cover from the base.
 12. A cleaning supplies caddyfor holding a plurality of cleaning supplies, the caddy comprising: abase for supporting the cleaning supplies; a cover adapted to fit on thebase comprising at least one cover wall at least partially defining acover cavity therein in which the cleaning supplies are receivable; thebase comprising at least one base securing element; the cover comprisingat least one cover securing element, for cooperating with said at leastone base securing element to secure the base and the cover together; andsaid at least one cover wall being substantially continuous andadditionally defining a support region for supporting the cover in aninverted position such that, when removed from the base, the cover ispositionable on the support region to contain a liquid in the covercavity.
 13. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 12 in which thesupport region comprises a main surface and a plurality of buttonsprotruding therefrom for supporting the cover, when the cover isinverted.
 14. A cleaning supplies caddy comprising: a plurality ofcleaning supplies; a base for supporting the cleaning supplies; a coveradapted to fit on the base comprising at least one cover wall at leastpartially defining a cover cavity therein, the cleaning supplies beingreceivable in the cover cavity; the base comprising at least one basesecuring element; and the cover comprising at least one cover securingelement, for cooperating with said at least one base securing element tosecure the base and the cover together.
 15. A cleaning supplies caddyfor holding a plurality of cleaning supplies, the caddy comprising: abase comprising at least one base wall defining a base cavity therein,the base extending between first and second ends thereof; a coveradapted to fit on the base comprising at least one cover wall defining acover cavity therein, the cover extending between first and second endsthereof, and the base cavity and the cover cavity being in communicationwhen the cover is on the base such that the cleaning supplies arereceivable therein; the base comprising base securing elementspositioned at the first and second ends of the base respectively; thecover comprising cover securing elements positioned at the first andsecond ends of the cover respectively; a handle comprising: an elongatebody portion extending between first and second ends thereof; mountingelements positioned at the first and second ends respectively of thebody portion, for securing the first and second ends of the body portionto the respective cover securing elements; the body portion comprisinglatch elements at the first and second ends thereof respectively; andwhen the cover is on the base, the body portion is movable between alocked condition, in which the latch elements disposed at each of thefirst and second ends of the body portion engage the base securingelements at the first and second ends of the base respectively, to holdthe cover securing elements and the base securing elements together forsecuring the cover and the base together, and an unlocked condition, inwhich the latch elements are disengaged from the base securing elements,to permit removal of the cover from the base.
 16. A cleaning suppliescaddy according to claim 15 in which: the base comprises at least onefirst aperture; the cover comprises at least one second aperturepositioned to register with said at least one first aperture when thecover is mounted on the base; and the caddy additionally comprises alocking element at least partially positionable in said at least onefirst aperture and said at least one second aperture when the cover ismounted on the base, to permit the locking element to lock the base andthe cover together.
 17. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 15in which the base additionally comprises a plurality of interior wallsconnected with said at least one base wall, the interior walls at leastpartially extending into the base cavity to define a plurality ofcompartments in which the cleaning supplies are respectively receivable.18. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 15 in which the coveris at least partially non-opaque, to permit at least partial observationof the base cavity and the lower cavity when the cover is mounted on thebase.
 19. A cleaning supplies caddy according to claim 18 in which thebase additionally comprises a plurality of interior walls connected withsaid at least one base wall, the interior walls at least partiallyextending into the base cavity to define a plurality of compartments inwhich the cleaning supplies are respectively receivable.
 20. A cleaningsupplies caddy according to claim 19 additionally comprising at leastone label for providing point of purchase information.